Mostafa Chamran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mostafa Chamran

Minister of Defense

In office
1 October 1979 29 October 1980

Prime Minister

Mehdi Bazargan

Preceded by

Ahmad Madani

Succeeded by

Ali Khamenei

Deputy Prime Minister of Iran

In office
4 February 1979 6 November 1979

Prime Minister

Mehdi Bazargan

Preceded by

Abbas Amir-Entezam

Succeeded by

Sadeq Tabatabaei

Member of the Parliament of Iran

In office
28 May 1980 20 June 1981

Constituency

Tehran

Personal details

Born

8 March 1932
Tehran, Iran

Died

20 June 1981 (aged 49)

Dehlaviyeh, Iran

Resting place

Behesht-e Zahra, Tehran

Nationality

Iranian

Spouse(s)

Tamsen H. Parvaneh (1961 div. 1973)

Ghadeh Jaber (19771981)

Children

Roushan
Rahim
Ali
Jamal

Alma mater

Tehran University
Texas A&M University
UC Berkeley

Profession

Scientist

Religion

Islam

Military service
Imperial Army of Iran

Allegiance

Islamic Republic of Iran Army

Service/branch

Amal Movement
IRGC

Years of service

1966
19791981

Rank

Chief Commander

Battles/wars

Lebanese Civil War

IranIraq War

Mostafa Chamran Savei (8 March 1932 20 June 1981) was an Iranian scientist who served as
first defence minister of post-revolutionary Iran and asmember of parliament, as well as commander
of paramilitary volunteers in IranIraq War, known as "Irregular Warfare Headquarters". He was
killed during the war. He helped found the Amal Movement in southern Lebanon.
Contents
[hide]

1 Early life and education

2 Career and activities

3 Personal life

4 Death

5 Legacy

6 Pictures Gallery

7 External links

8 References

Early life and education[edit]

Chamran was born into a religious family on 8 March 1932 in Tehran.[1] Earlier he was educated
by Ayatollah Taleqani and Morteza Motahari.[2] He studied atAlborz High School and then graduated
from Tehran University with a bachelor's degree in electro mechanics.[1]
In the late 1950s, he moved to the United States for higher education, obtaining a M.S. degree from
the Texas A&M University.[3] He then went on to obtain his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and plasma
physics in 1963 from theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[4]
He was then hired as a senior research staff scientist at Bell Laboratories andNASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in the 1960s.[2][5] He was fluent in Persian,English, Arabic, French, and German.

Career and activities[edit]

Chamran was one of the senior members of the Freedom Movement led byMehdi Bazargan in the
1960s.[1][6] He was part of the radical external wing together with Ebrahim Yazdi, Sadegh
Ghotbzadeh and Ali Shariati.[7]
Following graduation, Chamran went to Cuba to receive military training.[8] In December 1963, he
along with Ghotbzadeh and Yazdi left the US for Egyptwhere he was trained in guerilla warfare.[9]
[10]
They met the Egyptian authorities to establish an anti-Shah organization in the country, which was
later called SAMA, special organization for unity and action.[7] Chamran was chosen as its military
head.[7] Upon his return to the US in 1965 he founded a group, Red Shiism, in San Jose with the aim
of training militants.[9] His brother,Mehdi, was also part of the group.[9] In 1968, he founded another
group, the Muslim Students Association of America (MSA), and it was led by Ebrahim Yazdi. [9] The
group managed to establish branches in the United Kingdom andFrance.[9]
In 1971 Chamran left the US for Lebanon[9] and joined the camps of the Palestine Liberation
Organization and the Amal movement.[8] He became a leading and founding member of the Islamic
revolutionary movement in theMiddle East, organizing and training guerrillas and revolutionary
forces inAlgeria, Egypt, Syria. During the civil war in Lebanon he actively cooperated with Musa Al
Sadr, founder of the Amal movement.[11] Chamran also became an Amal member and "right-hand
man of Sadr".[12][13]
Chamran along with Sadegh Ghotbzadeh was part of the faction, called "Syrian mafia", in the court
of Khomeini, and there was a feud between his group and the Libya-friendly group, led
by Mohammad Montazeri.[14]
With the Islamic Revolution taking place in Iran, Chamran returned to Iran.[15] In 1979, he served as
deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Mehdi Bazargan.[16][17] He was appointed commander of
Iran's Pasdaran (March 1979 1981)[18] and led the military operations
inKurdistan where Kurds rebelled against the Islamic regime.[16] He served as minister of defense
from September 1979 to 1980,[19] being the first civil defense minister of the Islamic Republic.[20]
In March 1980, he was elected to the Majlis of Iran (the Iranian Parliament) as a representative of
Tehran.[21] In May 1980, he was named the Ayatollah's representative to the Supreme Council of
National Defense.[22]

Personal life[edit]
Chamran was married to Tamsen Heiman, an American Muslim, in 1961. They had one daughter
Roushan and three sons Ali, Jamal and Rahim. Jamal was drowned in childhood and the rest of their
children currently live in the US. After migrating to Lebanon, due to the difficulties they were facing,
Tamsen left Chamran in 1973 and went back to the US. She died in 2009.
Later on Chamran was married to a Lebense, Ghadeh Jaber.[23]

Death[edit]

Tomb of Mostafa Chamran in the Behesht-e-Zahra cemetery in Iran

Chamran led an infantry unit during the IranIraq War and was shot twice in his left leg by shrapnel
from a mortar shell.[5] However, he refused to leave his unit.[5] He was killed in Dehlavieh on 20 June
1981 as the war was raging on.[1][24][25][26][27] His death was regarded as "suspicious" and the related
details have remained unclear.[15][28][29] Chamran was buried in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in
Tehran.[5]

Legacy[edit]
Khomenei publicly proclaimed Chamran as a "proud commander of Islam." [5]Chamran was
posthumously given a hero status, and many buildings and streets in Iran and Lebanon were named
for him, as well as a major expressway.[5] In 2012, Mohsen Alavi Pour published Chamran's
biography.[30] A species of moth were named after him in 2013.[31][32] Nick Robinson published an
English biography of Chamran in the United Kingdom in 2013, 22: Not a new lifestyle for those who
thirst for humanity!.[33]
In 2014 a film named Che was released to honor Chamran. The film portrays two days of Chamran's
life after the Islamic Revolution defending Paveh and received lots of attention and won some
awards[34]

Pictures Gallery[edit]
This section is empty. You can help
by adding to it. (December 2014)

External links[edit]

References[edit]

Mostafa Chamran Website (Persian)

1.

^ Jump up to:a b c d Moezzinia, Vida. "Dr. Mostafa Chamran". IICHS.

Retrieved 17 February 2013.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b "Shahid Mostafa Chamran has been known for his life
of sacrifices". ABNA. 26 June 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2013.

3.

Jump up^ "An integrator based on motion and electrostatic charge.

(Book, 1959)". [WorldCat.org]. Retrieved 17 February 2013.

4.

Jump up^ "Ph.D. Dissertations; EECS at UC Berkeley". CS. 9

January 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.

5.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Scott Peterson (21 September 2010). Let the

Swords Encircle Me: Iran--A Journey Behind the Headlines. Simon &
Schuster. p. 701. ISBN 978-1-4165-9739-1. Retrieved 5 August 2013.

6.

Jump up^ "Mehdi Bazargan's biography". Bazargan website.

Retrieved 3 August 2013.

7.

^ Jump up to:a b c Houchang Chehabi; Rula Jurdi Abisaab; Centre for

Lebanese Studies (Great Britain) (2 April 2006). Distant Relations: Iran
and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years. I.B.Tauris. p. 182. ISBN 978-186064-561-7. Retrieved 8 August 2013.

8.

^ Jump up to:a b Zabih, Sepehr (September 1982). "Aspects of

Terrorism in Iran". Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science. International Terrorism (Sage Publications) 463: 84
94. doi:10.1177/0002716282463001007. JSTOR 1043613.

9.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Barsky, Yehudit (May

2003). "Hizballah" (TERRORISM BRIEFING). The American Jewish
Committee. Retrieved5 August 2013.

10. Jump up^ Samii, Abbas William (1997). "The Shah's Lebanon policy:
the role of SAVAK". Middle Eastern Studies 33 (1): 66
91.doi:10.1080/00263209708701142. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
11. Jump up^ Ostovar, Afshon P. (2009). "Guardians of the Islamic
Revolution Ideology, Politics, and the Development of Military Power in
Iran (19792009)" (PHD THESIS). University of Michigan. Retrieved 26
July 2013.
12. Jump up^ "Musa al Sadr: The Untold Story". Asharq Alawsat. 31 May
2008. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
13. Jump up^ Ataie, Mohammad (Summer 2013). "Revolutionary Irans
1979 endeavor in Lebanon". Middle East
Policy XX (2).doi:10.1111/mepo.12026. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
14. Jump up^ Gayn, Mark (20 December 1979). "Into the depths of a
boiling caldron". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
15. ^ Jump up to:a b John H. Lorentz (1 April 2010). The A to Z of Iran.
Rowman & Littlefield. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-8108-7638-5. Retrieved2
August 2013.

16. ^ Jump up to:a b "Iran Unleashes Might on Kurds". The Pittsburgh

Press (Tehran). UPI. 2 September 1979. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
17. Jump up^ "Kurds claim town siege". The Palm Beach Post. 17 August
1979. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
18. Jump up^ Schahgaldian, Nikola B. (March 1987). "The Iranian Military
Under the Islamic Republic". RAND. Retrieved 18 February2013.
19. Jump up^ Sepehr Zabir (23 April 2012). The Iranian Military in
Revolution and War (RLE Iran D). CRC Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-1136-81270-5. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
20. Jump up^ Rose, Gregory F. (SpringSummer 1984). "The PostRevolutionary Purge of Iran's Armed Forces: A Revisionist
Assessment".Iranian Studies 17 (2-3): 153
194. doi:10.1080/00210868408701627. JSTOR 4310440.
21. Jump up^ Bahman Baktiari (1996). Parliamentary Politics in
Revolutionary Iran: The Institutionalization of Factional Politics.
University Press of Florida. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-8130-1461-6.
Retrieved 27 July 2013.
22. Jump up^ "Khomenei's hard-liners triumph". The Spokesman Review.
AP. May 1980. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
23. Jump up^ "Mostafa Chamrans Lebanon converted into Arabic". Iran
Book News Agency. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 4 August2013.
24. Jump up^ Bernard Reich, Political Leaders of the Contemporary
Middle East and North Africa p.466
25. Jump up^ Daniel Brumberg, Reinventing Khomeini p.272
26. Jump up^ Houchang Chehabi; Rula Jurdi Abisaab (2 April
2006). Distant Relations. I.B.Tauris. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-86064-561-7.
Retrieved 19 February 2013.
27. Jump up^ Houchang E. Chehabi, Iranian Politics and Religious
Modernism p.293
28. Jump up^ Manouchehr Ganji (2002). Defying the Iranian Revolution:
From a Minister to the Shah to a Leader of Resistance. Greenwood
Publishing Group. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-275-97187-8. Retrieved 1
August 2013.
29. Jump up^ Augustus R. Norton (19 January 2009). Hezbollah: A Short
History. Princeton University Press. pp. 30. ISBN 978-0-691-14107-7.
Retrieved 9 August 2013.
30. Jump up^ "Martyr Chamrans biography book unveiled". Taqrib News.
20 June 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

31. Jump up^ Esfandiari, M.; Gyulai, P.; Rabieh, M.; Seraj, A.; Ronkay, L.
(2013). "Anagnorisma chamrani sp. n. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from
Iran". ZooKeys 317: 17. doi:10.3897/zookeys.317.5515. edit
32. Jump up^ "New Anagnorisma Moth Species from Beautiful Binaloud
Mountain Iran". Science Daily. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August2013.
33. Jump up^ "Book on lifestyle of Iranian veteran Chamran published in
UK". Tehran Times (Tehran). 10 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August2013.
34. Jump up^ Iran 32 nd Fajr Intl. Film Festival honor winners Press TV:
15 February 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Mostafa
Chamran.

Political offices
Preceded by
Ahmad Madani

Minister of Defence
19791980

Succeeded by
Ali Khamenei

Military offices
Preceded by
None

Chief commander of the

IRGC
19801981

Succeeded by
Mohsen Rezaee

[hide]

Defense and Armed Forces Logistics Ministers of Iran

Ahmad Madani
Mostafa Chamran
Mousa Namjoo
Javad Fakoori
Mohammad Salimi
Mohammad Hossein Jalali
Akbar Torkan
Mohammad Forouzandeh
Ali Shamkhani

Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar
Ahmad Vahidi
Hossein Dehghan

Categories:

1932 births

1981 deaths

Alborz High School alumni

University of Tehran alumni

University of Texas at Austin alumni

University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering alumni

Iranian humanitarians

Iranian martyrs

Iranian Shia Muslims

Iranian scientists

People of the Iranian Revolution

Iranian military personnel killed in the IranIraq War

Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution officers

Iranian Majlis Representatives

Freedom Movement of Iran politicians

Defence ministers of Iran

Military personnel killed in action

Burials at Behesht-e Zahra

Iranian revolutionaries

Iranian Irregular Warfare Headquarters guerrillas

Navigation menu

Create account

Log in

Read
Edit
View history
Go

Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article

Article
Talk


Donate to Wikipedia

Wikipedia store
Interaction

Help

About Wikipedia

Community portal

Recent changes

Contact page
Tools

What links here

Related changes

Upload file

Special pages

Permanent link

Page information

Wikidata item

Cite this page

Print/export

Create a book

Download as PDF

Printable version
Languages

Deutsch

Espaol

Franais

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahasa Melayu

Suomi

Svenska

Edit links

This page was last modified on 14 June 2015, at 11:32.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional

terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use andPrivacy Policy.
Wikipedia is a registered trademark of th